KHAN!!!!!! Wait, I mean Con

Star Trek Inspirational Posters found here.

Sure I don't live in Manhattan anymore, even if I'm darned close, and sure it's really Tuesday at this moment, but I've always been broad-minded about My Town Mondays.

This weekend was the 3rd Annual NY Comic-Con (vention). I've been to all three and it's ballooned in size and scope every year. While things keep improving, other problems of scale arise and need tweaking. After such a short run, that this is already the second largest event after Comic Con Int'l in San Diego shows that the East Coast was hungry for its own local venue. Sensible, too, since so much of the publishing is in NYC.

Sorry for the delay in posting, but Blogger's been more evil and obstreperous handling pictures than usual, which is really saying something. The order and shape will have to stay what it is (click to enlarge) and I'll notate around the edges. Yuck.

Above- The Javitz Center indeed has a soaring atrium and many kinds of other merchandise, like this case of figurines, are on display besides comics books and graphic novels. There's statuary; toys in both vinyl and plush; clothing and thematic accessories; non-picture books; lots of original artwork; games on boards, cards, and video; and exhibits from not only from 2-D producers but studios like Disney and Nickelodeon and SciFi who screened piles of related previews and trailers. Don't forget the funnel cakes.


The 2 top pics in the group above show the main problem in this year's show. The mob scene between cement walls is not the exhibition hall, which was, for the first time, a room large enough to walk in wide aisles without getting poked by horns and light sabers all the time. (Yay!) However, the downstairs hall where the panels were presented, including popular media previews, had no flow and inadequate capacity. A set of escalators leads to and from it from above, and the pic with the shiny tile floor is THE LINE FOR THE ESCALATOR simply to get into the mob! I didn't see a single panel, because of the schooling crowds that blockaded every inch of floor space. The media shows should be in a large, open access amphitheater set-up. On the biggest day, Saturday, it was disappointing not to get to attend any of the discussions or presentations. However, last year the capacity was lean enough they sold out of tickets, and lots of traveling attendeed couldn't even get in. So this is improvement. Also above is the quintessential comic dealer set-up, boxes with issues in plastic sleeves for browsing. There are fewer of these type of booths than you'd imagine, fewer than the first years. I think. It's more about the splashy spectacle now.

The last of this chunk above is a truly sad sight to educate any writer. WARNING: RANT FOLLOWS. See that tiny table on the blue carpet in the image's center? The one with a few books that's slapped against the back of another, much grander booth? Whoever the publisher, they set up a space with signing slots in this lousy spot, and the dispirited author was spending his hour just sitting there, slouched so far back you can't see him in my picture. I almost went back at least to examine his book out of pity, but frankly, there was plenty of traffic (as you can see) walking that row if he'd come out from behind the table! Stopped waiting for people to approach him! The place incites sensory overload, but... Meet the other exhibitors in your row. Most people working in the field are also fans. They may buy a book, send people your way, or at least help you pass the time in bonhomie. Meet attendees! Ask them how the day's going, what they've seen so far that's cool, whether it's their first con, etc. Regular people like having interest shown in them, just like authors do : ) And they may even buy your book or tell a friend who will. It takes energy to be outgoing, but at an event like this (especially if your slot's only a hour or so), enthusiasm teems in the candy-colored oxygen supply. Don't just mope and liquify, feeling bad about your admittedly horrible placement and pathetic display. Time's a wastin' while potential readers flit by. If you wrote the book, you're part of the product and more potentially compelling than any long table, pleated draping, banner, or vertical shelving unit!

The scene has echoes of Mardi Gras and elaborate tailgating parties. You'll notice lots and lots of costumed people and become inured to them. This year (also a yay), security was way less draconian about the 'weapons' people had with them. How you gonna make Gandalf give up his staff? Some of the outfits are very professional, some are more home-grown, but cosplayers and civvies are all cavorting together. Even the non-costumed tend to wear gear that proclaims their superheroic or thematic allegiances. It's a colorful, good-natured scene, polite and pleasant despite the apparently horrible and martial characters that populate it. Most of the costumed are not only happy, but positively eager, to have their pictures taken. Above left, the X-Men Women had just finished taking pictures with the excited girl CatWoman, if that's how to phrase it. Bad news for all the scantily costumed: Next year's con is in early Feb. again, and the coat check issues were myriad during the last winter event.

Of course, no convention's complete without Stormtroopers. Trust me on this. Half of this pair, once the helmet was off, was revealed to be a 30-ish woman with a chestnut bob and granny glasses who would've looked right at home behind any circulation desk. Cons Rock!